The King
by mouseonmydoorframe
Summary: "We haven't escaped the madness — it simply wears a new face, now." Inspired by the Achievement Hunter "King" Let's plays and the King AU art by tumblr user mallius, and the cover art is by her as well! Check out her tumblr! Warning: Gore, swearing
1. Chapter 1-Welcome

_The First and Rightful King_

"Welcome warriors to the Throne Room," the King's voice commanded from the end of the open-air hall. Grass overtook most of the huge hall, except for the red carpet walkway that was outlined in pure-gold, which matched the massive throne at the end of the walkway. The throne was easily larger than most of the houses in the city that King Geoff ruled over and on the throne stood the King himself: unarmored, unadorned with the jewels that normally accompany royalty. All he had was a small golden crown around his head; it was all that was needed-he wore royalty like a shirt.

"I am grateful you all have accepted the summons to my court" said the King lazily. After all, how could they refuse his summons? "I have prepared sleeping quarters for you behind my throne." King Geoff smirked, "I hope you find them suitable."

The young warriors walked around the throne and saw a small, mossy brick bunker behind the throne. "I'm glad the King spared no expense for the housing of his dogs," said Ray, a young mage well-known for his affinity to roses and dislike of sweets.

"At least there's a roof," said Jack, a master builder and leader of the citizen militia stationed in the city.

The warriors walked to the entrance of the bunker and down the stair to see their living quarters. "Five beds and a dump hole. Ever get the feeling that you're unimportant?" remarked Ryan, the quiet head herdsman for the city.

"At least it's nicer than that hole Ray calls a house!" joked the Court Jester, Gavin.

"Let's just get to sleep in this dungeon of a bunkhouse. I'm sure King Geoff didn't summon us here without a reason," said Sir Michael, Knight of the Court, general of Achievement City's army, and known amongst the city as General Mogar. The rest of the men agreed and all fell into uneasy sleep. Of course King Geoff wouldn't summon them without a reason. He was the Good King. He built the city from the ground up, him and the young jester Gavin. As King he ruled with fairness, with justice, and with a sense of duty to his people.

But something seemed off about the King right now, _almost as if he's a cat holding down the tail of a mouse that tries frantically to escape,_ thought Jack as he drifted off to sleep, _hopefully it's nothing though…_

The morning dawned and the warriors awoke and gathered in front of the King's throne. "Warriors I have gathered you here as you are the best that Achievement City has to offer. You walk with pride and with a good reason as you are each the leaders in your respective fields. You work hard and give your all day in and day out. Day in and day out. What a _boring _life. Sun rises, sun sets. I might build something, Gavin might attempted to entertain me, but that's the thing—I'm not entertained anymore. So…" the King's smile grew large, "I have designed my own entertainment. A tournament, if you will, in which you five will compete in. All you must do is do _exactly what I say._ Of course as your king I won't stand for any disobedience, so it's not as if you have much choice," chuckled the King. "I see you look worried. Some of you may be thinking of running and praying I won't find you. Let me assuage your fears; I will. That aside I won't be having you compete thinking there is no reward for you!" The King paused, looked around at the faces of his warriors and said:

"The warrior who wins this tournament will become King."


	2. Chapter 2-The First Task

Silence.

Each warrior stared at the King, shocked at the declaration of the King. Ray was the first to break the silence, "By king, you actually mean-"

"Yes. You will rule over all of Achievement city."

"Well, yes, that is what king means, but will we have your, you know…" Ray waved his hands vaguely in the air.

"My powers? Yes, that would be necessary to be king wouldn't it?" King Geoff grinned as he saw the realization and greed dawn on each of the warriors faces._ This will be very entertaining._

_ Wow, King. I could be king. I could do it. After all, I helped make some of the tasks for this tournament. I didn't know this was the prize though! _thought Gavin. He felt a nibble on the edge of his shirt and looked down to see a small brown sheep tugging at this clothes. "Ryan, I think one of your flock has followed you here. He's cute isn't he!"

Ryan snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the sheep. "Oh yes, that sheep. I let him roam free."

"Huh, why? Won't wolves eat him?"

"Well, he doesn't stay with the flock anyways, jumps out of the fences, and is just generally troublesome. Actually, kind of like you!" Ryan joked.

"OH thanks Ryan. Glad to know you're my friend. Well, I think he'll just be my little friend then! Look at him eating the grass. I've never seen a sheep eat grass before."

While Gavin and Ryan talked, King Geoff gathered the attention of the other warriors, "Let me give you an example of how this is going to work." His gaze focused on Gavin's new pet, "Let's say the first task was 'Bring me brown wool', then you would-"

Ryan without thought or hesitation immediately turned and pinned the sheep to the ground. The sheep let out a bleat. Gavin yelled "No! My sheep!" and immediately attempted to knock Ryan off the sheep. "Attempt" being the key word as Ryan easily had twice the muscle mass of Gavin from his work as the herdsman of Achievement City.

King Geoff interrupted the squabble, "I'm glad you are so dedicated to me Ryan, but this was just an example task. Let the sheep go; we don't want Gavin to use his new pet yet."

"_Yet?!"_ cried Gavin.

"I'm sorry my King, I just heard your command and obeyed. I'm afraid I did not hear the 'example' part," said Ryan.

"It's fine, just listen more closely next time, or else you might miss something."

"I will, my King."

"Now, two more things before we actually begin. One: don't destroy the carpet or throne. To do so would be…unpleasant for you," said the King, "Two: I have placed speaking spells on all of you, so we may all be able to hear one another no matter how far away we are in this world." The warriors nodded their understanding as the King surveyed his subjects, "I am glad you understand. Then I now declare this tournament for the Crown to begin. You're first task," the King's eyes grew hard, "be the last man alive."

Jack doesn't even look around after the King gave his first challenge. He knew these men and knew they had killed before. _Especially that Mogar, _he thought, _he is the general, the greatest knight in the land. It is going to take some wits to kill him. _Jack instead bolted for the gate in the pandemonium following the announcement of the task. As he ran he noticed Ray had a similar idea as him of hide and survive, though he just hid behind a tree in the corner of the court. _I'll need to watch him. He thinks before he acts and he's clever. _

Ray peeked around the tree he was hiding behind to see no other than General Mogar himself sprinting toward him. Though they were all unarmed, Ray did not want to take his chances against Michael and began to run away around the edge of the court. Ryan, seeing Ray run from Michael, took his chance to eliminate at least one opponent with little trouble, and began to head off Ray. Ray saw the formidable form of Ryan running to stop his path and began to panic, _I shouldn't have agreed to this tournament! _He looked frantically around for an escape, when he felt something large slam into the middle of his back and knock him over. Michael had caught up to him. Ray flew and slammed into a wall that was the chest of Ryan. Ryan threw a swift uppercut into the gut of Ray. Ray doubled over and thought, _Of the two people who could have gone after me, I got the man who kills lions of men for a living and the man who kills actual lions for a living. Fuck, I don't know how I'm going to get out of this one._

"Hey! Where is that coward Jack?" called Gavin, "He's not in the throne room!"

"Do we have to stay in the throne room?" asked Jack.

"Yes, I'm sorry I didn't clarify that in the beginning. You are supposed to stay in the throne room for this task," replied the King.

_What does he mean this task? I'm pretty sure whoever wins this wins the 'tournament' as all the other competitors will be dead, _thought Ray as Ryan and Michael continued to rain punches and kicks on him as he laid on the ground. He felt his kidneys begin to fail as the kicks connected with is back. He was curled into the fetal position to try to protect the rest of his organs, but he knew it was futile. He could feel himself beginning to black out when he felt two hands on his head and—

Michael dropped the lifeless body of the magician back to the ground. One competitor down, three to go. Michael turned to Ryan who straightened himself up to his full height, which was about a head taller than Michael. There was no overpowering this man, but Michael was not the general for nothing as he surveyed the herdsman, senses heighten for the slightest clue of where Ryan was going to move first. Michael watched him feint to the right, but the tenseness in his left hand gave him away and Michael blocked his left hook with his right hand and connected his left hand with Ryan's jaw.

Meanwhile, Gavin ran directly at Jack who had reentered the throne room. _Cheeky little bastard was trying to hide in the corner! He is not winning this, we don't want a coward king! _He jumped and pulled back his fist to punch Jack in the face, when Jack whipped around, caught Gavin's other arm in his hand, and used his own momentum against him to throw him into the wall. _Damn! I forgot his was the head of the militia. I can't underestimate him, _Gavin thought as he coughed on all fours, winded from his smack into the wall. He looked up gasping for air and saw Jack running towards him. Gavin leapt to his feet and began to run away, hoping for another chance for a better strike.

"Forgot I was the head of militia, huh?" called Jack from behind Gavin.

Gavin grimaced and continued to run, taking a sharp right turn so he would be behind the throne and hopefully able to break Jack's line of sight long enough so he could dart into the line of trees in the right side of the throne room, hide, and regroup his senses. But as he turned the corner he saw a flurry of fists that was Michael and Ryan. _Bloody hell, I'd rather face Jack! _And as he turned to keep running, Jack caught up with him. Gavin felt his feet fly out from under him. His breath rushed out of him again as he hit the ground and before he could scramble away he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and it all went black.

Jack pulled his boot out of the back of Gavin's head, and then ran again before he could attract the attention of Michael or Ryan. As he crouched he thought he had escaped their notice, but he as he looked around saw the fight between Michael and Ryan had carried them away from the back of the throne, and they were now able to see him.

"Jack is hiding in the corner!" yelled Ryan, breaking his and Michael's concentration.

"No cowards as Kings!" yelled Michael as he turned around.

_Oh shit!_ thought Jack as Ryan and Michael ran towards him, their fight on a temporary hold. He started running along the wall, trying to get himself out of the corner. Ryan saw what he was attempting, and ran to head him off.

"I'm going to put you in a hole!" yelled Ryan menacingly. Everyone knew about the cow he kept in a hole in his house, though none dared mention or ask about it. After all, he was a great herdsman and never lost any animals, so people turned a blind eye.

Jack tried to flip directions, but his feet got tangled up and he tripped. He scrambled to get up and ran straight into Mogar himself. Michael didn't hesitate as he grabbed Jack's head and snapped his neck. Now only Michael and Ryan remained. As they faced each other, Ryan wiped blood away that was falling from his mouth from a punch Michael landed in their earlier brawl.

"You're a fair opponent Ryan. I am sorry our only fight is to end in death," said Michael as he and Ryan began to circle each other.

"I agree. I will make sure you are remembered with honor," replied Ryan as his eyes searched for a weakness, **any **weakness, in Michael's form.

"Large words. Let's see if you can live up to them," said Michael. He feinted high, then went to sweep Ryan's feet out from him. Ryan moved at the last second, but was slightly off-balance as he landed. _Now! _thought Michael. He began raining blows down on Ryan, always keeping him from getting his balance. Then there it was, the opening Michael was looking for. Michael punched straight into Ryan's throat, crushing his windpipe. Ryan fell to his knees, as Michael again took his opponent's head in his hands. Michael twisted his hands and Ryan fell down, dead.

Michael turned and looked at his fallen opponents, his fellow warriors. "Well done _General Mogar, _defender of Achievement City. You live up to your title," called King Geoff from his throne. He then lifted up and flew over to Michael. "I am glad I have you as a knight."

"And now a future King, sire." said Michael tiredly. _Defender of Acheivement City and I killed these citizens without a thought. What kind of knight am I? _he thought.

"Future King? No, you haven't won that title yet." said the King, smirking.

"But sire, all the competitors are dead? Are there more who I have to compete against?"

"Oh no, I only invited the best Achievement City has to offer, which would be you five." The King's smirk grew wider.

"Sire, I am confu-" started Michael as King Geoff reached into his armor and pulled out an orb. The orb glowed slightly in the setting sun, but not with light. The orb glowed with shadows, absorbing all light into its abyss. The King held the orb up so it was outlined by the setting sun. Shadows leapt out of the orb and rushed to the four fallen bodies. Michael watched in horror as the four men began to heal of their wounds. Heads snapped back around, wounds closed, and in Gavin's case his entire skull began to reassemble itself. The hairs on the back of Michael's head stood up. "This is dark unnatural magic," he whispered to himself. He then noticed he too was healing from his fights with the other. "How sire? _Why sire?_" he asked the King.

The King looked at his general. "As I was perusing my fine library about five years ago, I came across a secret tunnel from the Kings before me. I was…curious and I followed the tunnel to the hidden catacombs below the deepest layer of the earth."

"The Old Kings are just fairytales," stuttered Michael.

"No, they are not, and I discovered their eternal resting place. It is a huge hall, with statues of men seated on thrones. Each statue was easily twenty feet high. These huge behemoth of statues were tombs for the Old Kings. Every man and woman had a bare weapon laid across their lap, whatever their weapon of choice must have been when they were alive. At the end of the hall of tombs, there was an altar, and on the altar was a book and this orb. In the book, a scribe had detailed how a king was chosen during that time. See, during the Reign of the Old Kings, the king would change every five years, and a new king would assume the throne. How the king was chosen was a tournament the current king would host. There, those he deemed worthy would compete and almost of the challenges would be to the death," said King Geoff.

"Those tournaments must have been short-lived," commented Michael as he watched Ray begin to breathe again.

"I thought so to. Until I read a passage concerning this orb," he held the orb up and gazed at it. "You see, when the proper spell is placed on this orb, it creates a binding contract. This is why a king was chosen every five years, because at that time a new owner of the orb, a new king, must be chosen. The orb itself acts as a soul carrier, and with its power, those bound to it remain immortal and can be revived."

By this point, the fallen warriors have been reawakened and were listening with various levels of the awe, fear, and disgust on their faces. Gavin quietly asked, "Sire, are you bound to this orb?"

"Yes, my jester, I am. Five years ago I enacted the spell on myself. I wish to remain immortal. If I ever die, this orb will revive me at the sunset of that day. Or the owner of the orb can revive me quicker if they wished to. But as I am the current owner of the orb, I cannot die."

"And since I just awoke from the dead, I am assuming we are also bound to it," said Ray with is head in his hands.

"Yes, and as the resident mage, I assume you know the Old Magics are all-binding. The spell was enacted when you slept. Under each bed were the runes necessary to complete the spell. We, like the Old Kings, are immortal!" said King Geoff triumphantly.

"But the Old Kings are dead!" cried Ryan.

"In the end of the book, it is said the Last King ran and hid at the end of his five years. He declared there had been too much bloodshed and because a new owner was not chosen for the orb, the orb killed the men bound to it," Geoff gazed at the faces around him, "But, as I am sure none of us wish to die soon, we won't have to worry about it."

"How binding is this Ray?" whispered Jack, "What if I don't want any of this?"

"If you don't participate, the orb will kill you," said Ray lifting his head out of his hands, he face resolute. Jack nodded to himself, took a deep breath, and looked to the king.

"Then let's continue this cursed tournament," said Jack curtly.

"Oh why the vinegar Jack? I gave you _immortality._ You could be a little grateful," replied King Geoff.

"Even though I won't stay dead, dying still hurts," Jack responded.

"YOU'RE TELLING ME," yelled Gavin at Jack. Jack turned a little red around the ears and was about to respond when Geoff interrupted.

"Before you continue this argument, let us continue with the tournament. Now Michael, as the Old Kings did in their tournaments, the winner of each round would receive a golden block, which they would place on a block of obsidian."

"Like those golden towers that are everywhere in Achievement City? I thought you built those Geoff, not the Old Kings." asked Michael.

"I built all of them but one. That one was the last remaining remnant from the Old Kings and I took it as the symbol of our land," answered Geoff. "Now, Michael, take your golden block and place it on the obsidian block with your name carved into it."

Geoff led Michael to the obsidian block just inside the gate of the throne room. There were four blocks of obsidian and one dirt block. Michael placed the block of gold on the obsidian block as Ray inspected the dirt block that belonged to him.

"Hey, why don't I have an obsidian block?" cried Ray, indignant.

"The same reason you don't have a wooden house! Obsidian absorbs magic, which is why it is the base of the tower, and since you're a magician, your magic would mix this the magic in the obsidian and that would be cataclysmic for everyone," replied Geoff. "Now, with the first task completed, and Michael with one gold block, let's begin the next task."


	3. Chapter 3-Fishing

"I am impressed with the tenacity and…ferocity of my warriors. To kill one another without thought or remorse…we truly are our ancestor's descendants. Well, now that the cat is out of the bag concerning death, why don't we take a break from all of that, eh?" asked King Geoff after the warriors had rested for the night.

Gavin sighed, visibly relieved. The others weren't quite so sure. "A break, sire?" asked Ray. "From the tournament?" _Good, _he thought, _maybe I can go get some supplies from my house. Hide them around and then pretend I found them. _

"Oh no no no!" chuckled Geoff. "We must continue the games, but this one is a more relaxing! I am assuming everyone knows what a fish is? Well, I want a fish to be fished right here in the courtyard and cooked and then presented to me. You cannot kill each other"

Everyone scanned the courtyard. The breeze ruffled the grass that carpeted the floor of the yard. "Um, sire? I don't see a pond. Or even a puddle…?" asked Jack.

"Very observant. Just because this is a non-killing round of the tournament, doesn't mean it will be easy right?" answered Geoff.

Ryan had begun to walk along the edge of the wall, looking for some water feature that may have been missed while Jack asked his questions. Suddenly, hidden from view by a small divot in the ground and the crumbling wall of the courtyard built partially over it, was a small, frozen over, pond. _I could use this. Just not tell anyone about it…no but I have to fish the fish in front of the King. I'll just ask him privately if I can use it. _A vision of himself on the throne with the crown on his head flashed in Ryan's mind-eye. _No need to alert the others._

He looked over and heard the King release the warriors to begin the task. Ryan waved Geoff over nonchalantly asked, "So what about this, uh, patch of ice here? Can I use it?"

"What is Ryan going on about?" Gavin's voice sounded in Ryan's ear as if he was right next to him. Ryan whipped around but Gavin was nowhere in sight. _Oh, that damn speaking spell. I had completely forgotten._

"No Ryan, you must fish out of a newly-made pond. Got to prove you are worthy of the crown by the strength of your back! Though, I am liking how your mind works," answered Geoff, looking at Ryan as if searching for something. Ryan met his gaze cautiously.

"Ryan the Loophole Guy!" yelled Michael, breaking Geoff's concentration and freeing Ryan from his gaze.

_I can see why he is the King, _thought Ryan. _It's hard to meet his eyes. _Ryan shook himself and headed out of the throne room into the forest outside of it. He saw his fellow warriors had been busy, falling trees, crafting tools, and getting ready to mine.

Gavin was falling a tree next to General Mogar. "Eh, just like old times huh? Team Nice Dynamite working together again!"

"Gavin, we aren't children anymore. And I hardly count cutting down trees that are next to each other as 'working together'," said Michael.

"Oh, but Michael! Come on, we could help each other!"

"There can only be one king Gavin," said Michael curtly. He finished falling his tree and then moved to begin crafting his tools.

Gavin sighed. He missed his friend Michael; he didn't like the power-hungry knight his old friend had become. Gavin turned back to his tree to see Ryan had already started falling it. "Oi! That's my tree, back off!" yelled Gavin, pushing Ryan away.

"You weren't doing anything with it! Besides this is a no-killing round!" replied Ryan as he continued to cut down the tree.

"Doesn't mean I can't fight you for my wood!" said Gavin, putting his fists up.

Ryan looked over at Gavin with an eyebrow raised. He could easily defeat Gavin. But there were plenty of trees and Gavin had a stubborn revenge streak. Though his plans for revenge would often fail, he would keep trying. _Meh, I'll talk the high road._

"Okay, you can take your wood. Look I even helped you a bit," said Ryan, stepping away from the tree with his hands raised. Michael chuckled.

"What?" asked Gavin as Ryan left to find his own tree.

"Nothing Gavin. If you don't get it, I won't say. Aren't you glad Ryan helped you with your wood?" Michael tried unsuccessfully to keep himself from laughing, but lost when Jack and Geoff started laughing at the unintentional innuendo.

"Oh, bullocks on you!" said Gavin turning to finish falling his tree. "At least I know how to do things! Anyone can fight; I can build and craft!"

"Anyone can fight and yet I win. I guess that just means I am better than anyone," retorted Michael.

Gavin made angry sounding noises, but no other coherent argument came from him, so Michael assumed he won. Michael chuckled as he turned by to his work. He examined his finished wooden sword, and then laid it down next to the rest of his finished tools. _Not pretty, but serviceable. I should make some stone, or better yet iron, versions of these as soon as possible. _

Michael stood up and put all the tools in the spelled-travel bag. This allowed him to carry as many things as he needed, which was handy. All bags in Achievement City were spelled as such, thanks to the mages like Ray. He saw he still had a bunch of extra wood though. _I don't want to carry that around. I should make a chest and keep it in the throne room. The others might steal from it though…_

"King Geoff? Are chests in the throne room safe from the others?" asked Michael.

"I am indifferent."

_So no._

Michael looked around the forest, or clearing now that a good portion of trees had been chopped down in the vicinity. Only Gavin, who was now crafting his tools from his tree, remained. Seeing no one else, Michael struck out into the deeper parts of the forest, looking for a hidden grove to place the entrance to the mine. Just because they couldn't kill each other this round, doesn't mean they can't steal from each other. _Or kill each other in later rounds._

The sun was setting as Gavin finished the last of his tools. He noticed and looked around warily. Darkness was dangerous here. Monsters came from the dark recesses of the world at night to kill and destroy. Gavin avoided being outside at night when he could, but with the crown at stake, he was going to have to continue through the night. He put all of his tools into his rucksack except his sword—he would need it.

Gavin heard a slight hissing noise behind him and wheeled around to find himself face to face with a monster. The green face of this monster, known colloquially around Achievement City as 'Creepers', displayed no emotion. All that came from it was a slight hissing noise. Gavin yelped and sprung backwards as the Creeper self-destructed. "Hwaaaaaaaah! Ahhhh! I almost died! Damn Creeper snuck up on—Haaaaaaaaaaaaah! Zombie!"

A zombie must have been attracted to noise made by Gavin and the Creeper and had shambled over to the commotion. Gavin viciously swung his sword, knocking the zombie back. "Bloody all kicking off over here!" he yelled.

"Good thing anyone can fight right Gavin?" commented Michael, who was deep in the earth now, mining coal and iron.

Gavin remained silent as he slayed the zombie. _No wonder Michael's patron animal is the bear. He's just bloody like one. _

The warriors continued mining through the night, swapping stories so as to stay awake. "Remember when Ryan first came to Achievement City?" asked Michael. "He was always up to something, always breaking rules."

"I remember that," answered Jack, "we called him 'Rebel Ryan' for a while."

"It just took me a while to understand you can't break any unstated rule, or rule that the populace might think of," said Ryan.

"Ooh Ryan, angry at the people?" teased Michael.

"Nah."

"Oh yeah, that was convincing."

"Yeah Ryan. Besides it's not like it's that hard to follow the societal rules. What, were you raised in a barn?" asked Gavin.

"No, but close enough. I was raised in one of the towns on the very edge of the land. It was a rough-and-tumble 'take what you can or someone else will' type of life," explained Ryan, "that's why I stayed out of town as much as possible. Animals, even ones that want to kill you, are more straight-shooting."

"Ryan, I bet you got absolutely mullered as a kid by older kids," said Gavin.

"Mullered?" asked Jack confused.

"Yeah, mullered. What about it?" replied Gavin.

"Let's add that to 'Gavin Free's Dictionary of Made-up Words'," joked Ryan.

"It's not a made-up word—wha-what happened to my mine?!" asked Gavin. Gavin looked around confused. He was blocked in. His staircase that should have been behind him was nowhere to be found. "Wha-who-how-MICHAEL."

Michael laughed and ran up the rest of the flight of stairs leading to Gavin's mine. While Gavin had been talking, he had started to 'de-mine' Gavin by filling in his tunnel with cobblestone. Michael knew he himself wouldn't be able to find iron first, so his plan was to wait until someone made a pond in the court and he would fish in that one. After all, Geoff just said that the fish had to be fished from a freshly-made pond, so that meant to Michael it wouldn't have to be his own pond. But that did mean that Michael would have to wait until someone made a pond. So, until someone made a pond, Michael had time to kill. He twirled his fishing pole absent-mindedly and sighed. It was going to take a while for anyone to make a pond, so he might as well keep mining until someone made a bucket. Maybe he'd strike iron first. Michael headed back over to the entrance of his mine.

At this same time, Jack was running up the stairs that lead down into his mine. He had a bucket and was ready to build his pond. He got above ground and stopped, "I have no idea where the throne room is."

"Oh damn it, I have no idea where I am," said Ryan.

"Me neither," said Ray and Michael at the same time.

"How do you not know?" asked Gavin.

"Because we all just ran out and didn't think about that! Shit," said Jack looking around in the dark forest. Then he saw a faint glow in the distance. It couldn't be the sun rising; it was coming from the wrong direction. Jack started moving towards it. It was the throne! "Wow, good thing you can see the throne from space!"

"I can't. I think I've wandered too far away," said Michael.

By the time Jack walked into the throne room and dug a small hole for the pond, the sun had fully risen. He then filled the pond with water from his iron buckets. Geoff flew down, offering Jack a vial of a potion to pour into the water to allow life to spawn in the waters. Jack was about to pour the potion in when he realized he still hadn't made his fishing pole yet. Jack gave the vial back to Geoff with a small shake of his head. Geoff nodded and took the potion back and murmured, "Good idea." Jack refilled his buckets and filled the hole in, almost as if he hadn't been there. He then ran off back into the forest, looking for one of the giant spider inhabitants that lived there. He needed its spider-silk to make the rod.

Jack ran past Ryan as he left. Ryan had his fishing rod in hand; he planned to wait it out until someone made a pond. He wasn't having any luck finding iron, though he was lucky he ran into a spider last night. Ryan, even though he knew it wasn't going to be protected by the King, decided to make a chest to put all of his extra supplies in.

Geoff was just heading up into the sky to check on the rest of his warriors when Ryan saw him. Ryan flicked the rod back, then casted the line up at Geoff, hooking the bottom of his shirt. Geoff felt the slight tug, and looked down. He laughed when we saw Ryan grinning up at him, "It appears you have caught a King!"

"Too bad I need a fish!"

Ryan heard a creaking noise behind him and turned around to see Jack rifling through his chest. "Jack, I will kill your ass if you take anything from my chest!" yelled Ryan, eyes alight.

"It's a no kill round and we're in the throne room!" Jack protested, but Geoff was laughing too hard to pay attention. Ryan advanced menacingly, stone sword raised. "Fine! Here's your stuff back."

Michael walked into the throne room as Jack was leaving it, muttering about King Favorites. Michael saw Ryan lounging against the wall, seated on the grass. He and Geoff were laughing about something, but then Ryan noticed Michael and got up. "Going to make a pond?" he asked smiling.

"Maybe." answered Michael curtly. They stared at each other, waiting for one to make a move. _Is it worth it to wait this motherfucker out? _Michael continued the stare down with Ryan. Ryan's gaze was level and confident, thought there was something unnerving about it. Like there was something moving in the back of his eyes. _No, he's here for the long haul. I'll just have to out-fish him. _

Michael pulled out his shovel and dug out a small hole and then filled it with water. Geoff walked over and handed the vial of potion which Michael poured into the water. Ryan smirked and gestured for Michael to cast his line first. _This smug-ass fuck, _thought Michael. Ryan casted his line in and then sat back to wait for the fish.

They waited for a while but nothing was biting. Geoff looked over the pond, "You know, it think this pond is too small to fish in. I've only used this potion on good-sized ponds, not puddles."

Michael sighed and said, "Ryan if you expand the pond, I'll go get more water."

Ryan nodded. He jumped into the water, which reached his knees, and began to dig. The water was spreading out to fill the new parts of the pond, lowering the average water level until…there was no water? Ryan looked around confused. The water was completely gone. _Someone with magic must've spelled the water away_, he thought. "Ray, where are you? I need that water back," called Ryan.

"I'm still underground. I know I'm not gonna win this one so I'm preparing for later challenges," answered Ray.

_Strange…_thought Ryan. He went back to his digging, casting his eyes around. Michael returned with the water and poured it into the larger hole. "What happened to the rest of the water Ryan?" Michael asked.

"I have no idea, we're going to need more though," Ryan replied.

"Where could it have gone? Did someone steal it?" Michael asked confused.

"I don't know! It was there and then it wasn't!" Ryan answered flustered.

"Okay, okay! I'll go get more water!"

Ryan began to get out of the pond when he felt the water receding again. He looked down to see the water disappearing from around his ankles. _What-!_ He whipped around to see a bright green blur running away. "DAMN IT GAVIN!" yelled Ryan. He couldn't chase after him and get his water back—there was no killing this round.

Gavin cackled as he ran around the far side of the throne. He poured the water into his own pond, which was now filled. He then pulled out his rod and began fishing.

Jack ran back into the courtyard, fishing rod in hand, Michael close behind him with water. The race for fish was on. Ryan had filled in the rest of the pond so it was back to its original size. "We'll just have to deal with it!" said Ryan frustrated.

Geoff gave each of the competitors a vial and watched as his subjects fanatically fished. Gavin was getting more and more frustrated as his lead was floating away. He was considering stealing the water from Jack or Michael's ponds, when Ryan yelled "Yes!" and ran over to the furnace in the bottom right corner of the courtyard. _Bullocks!_ thought Gavin.

Shortly after, Jack also caught a fish and stuck it into his own furnace next to the throne. Ryan was pacing in front of the fire, waiting for his fish to cook. "Come on, come on, come on!" he urged. Finally the fish was cooked and he pulled it out of the fire. "Oh King," he said, "I hope your royal palette is pleased with my offering!"

"Very pleased my warrior!" said the King as he ate the fish with his bare hands. There were no need for manners or false pretenses among these men.

"My fish was in the furnace my liege!" said Jack. "May I tempt you anyways even though I did not win?"

"Kiss ass!" muttered Ray as he walked through the gate into the courtyard. The sun was beginning to set.

"Indeed!" laughed Geoff. "You may keep your fish Jack."

"Very good effort all but there is only ever one winner. Here is your prize Ryan. A block of gold. Place it upon your obsidian base," said Geoff.

The flames of the torches lighting the courtyard flickered over all the warriors as Ryan placed his block of gold on its pedestal. Ryan stepped back, pleased to be on the board. The others stared at the reflections dancing on the gold's surface. Geoff surveyed the warriors from the back, smirking.

He broke the silence, "Now, gentlemen, I hope you enjoyed your fishing break!" He smile grew wider. "Do not expect any more. Let us continue."


	4. Chapter 4-Skeletons

The moon began to rise into the sky, washing the land in a cold silver light. But the woods remained dark except for the hall of the King, flickering with the light from the torches that lined it. The King looked from his seat on his throne on top of its pedestal and could see the lake just outside the hall reflecting the rising moon. _Perfect,_ he thought.

"Jack, as leader of the civilian militia, please tell us what you spend the most time dealing with," said King Geoff.

Jack's face hardened as he spat out, "Those damn monsters that come at night."

"Yes, monsters," contemplated Geoff, "They kill many of _my_ citizens each year; those men foolish enough to wander alone at night in the dark parts of this world. And yet these horrors hold great value don't they Ray?"

"Yes sire," answered Ray, "I use skeleton bones to help the farmers grow crops. Powder dropped from a properly slain Creeper, when mixed with the right ingredients, can recreate the destruction of a Creeper where we would want it to happen. Even the deadliest monsters from the dark reaches of the Nether provide necessary resources to better our lives."

"So killing a monster serves the double purpose of keeping the citizens safe and giving them a better life with the resources scavenged from the corpses of the monsters," said Geoff. "Well, since I have the strongest warriors gathered here, I think it would be a waste not to put your prowess at battle to use for the good of the kingdom. Your next task is to slay six skeletons and bring me their bones." Geoff glanced around the room. "As skeletons are dangerous beings, any and all deaths that may or may not happen will be attributed to the skeletons no matter what anyone else saw." The warriors nodded their understanding. "Before you head off though, please give me any bones you may have from slaying skeletons in previous rounds to protect yourself. No unfair advantages. Then you may go."

"Wha-what! I have been preparing for this round! I helped you come up with it!" yelled Gavin in outrage as the other warriors handed over any bones they happened to have.

"This is exactly why I am having you hand them over!" said Geoff as he accepted a bone from Jack. "It would be completely unfair."

"I had three bones though!" huffed Gavin.

"Oh stop whining," said Jack annoyed as he walked out the gates of the hall with his sword in hand.

Gavin chucked his bones over to Geoff in fury and stomped out of the hall angrily. He clenched and unclenched his hand on the hilt of his undrawn sword, muttering to himself about how it was unfair how he couldn't prepare for later rounds. He heard a small rustle on his right and looked up to see a flash of polished stone before it cleaved his head from his shoulders.

Gavin's body slumped to the ground as Jack wiped his blade clean. Jack crouched and began rummaging through Gavin's bags, taking any useful supplies he had. _His sword and pickaxe are steel! What an idiot, leaving his guard down. _Jack stood up and unbuckled his makeshift stone sword from his side and replacing it with Gavin's steel sword. Jack looked down at Gavin to see him start breathing again as the Old Magic made good of its contract.

Gavin opened his eyes to see Jack standing over him with a smirk on his face. Gavin leapt to his feet and reached to draw his sword but stopped when his hand was only grasping at the empty air at his side. Gavin looked around on the ground for his sword confused. He turned all the way around, frantically looking for his weapon but stopped when something reflecting the risen moon caught his eye. He turned and saw his sword, now on Jack's belt. Jack look at Gavin with mocking amusement. Gavin felt his rage building and reached into his bag to find everything was gone. His steel pickaxe, his stone shovel, anything that was of any worth was gone and he knew it was in the bag of the man standing with of cocky smile in front of him. "YOU BITCH!" Gavin yelled as he struck Jack across the face with the only left in his bag, a raw piece of wood.

Jack reeled back in surprise, holding the side of his face. He felt a small trickle of blood on his fingers. Jack regained his footing then drew his new sword and faced Gavin. With a flash of the sword, Gavin was killed even quicker this time than before. Jack shook his head and tore off a small piece of his shirt and soaked it in the nearby lake to clean the blood off his face, but the cut was already healed from the magic. _Geoff must be making sure we all heal as fast as possible so we can get back to killing each other, _thought Jack. Jack glanced at Gavin to make sure he was still 'dead', then walked into the dark forest, a plan forming in his head of how to get the six skeleton bones requested by his King.

Gavin opened his eyes again, but only saw the stars overhead twinkling softly this time. He sighed. This round was not going well for him. He rolled over to his stomach and got to his knees and looked around the clearing to see nothing. No competitors or skeletons. He reviewed his options in his head and decided his best course of action was to at least arm himself, even if it was a basic wooden swords sprats in the village practiced with. He hauled himself up and headed to the nearest tree to begin tearing off branches.

Jack, now well-armed, gazed into the steeply-sloping torch-lit tunnel. He was in the caverns under the city, the entrance to which was under his own house. This was for a good reason too because the monsters and other grisly manner of creatures enjoy the dark spaces created by the caverns, so it made sense to have the man defending the city sitting right next to this threat. These caverns had allowed the people of Achievement City to flourish though, which is why they left them open: the benefit of the mines outweighed the consequences that the monsters might bring.

But this tunnel Jack was now walking down was completely man-made: small, compact, and heading straight to one of the darkest memory of his time in combat training. To be a part of the civilian militia, you have to able to survive in the most monster-infested areas of the world, so King Geoff created in the deep bowels of the world a massive cavern, unlit to as to allow young men to understand what you must truly do to survive. As monster after monster spawns in this world from their dark world, trainees must rely on combat, strategy, and their own minds to survive. Nowadays, thanks to Jack's harsh training regiment, most make it out alive; a very different story from Jack's training years. He was the only one to make it out alive. The proper name for the massive cavern Jack was now stepping into is "The Trials", but most now call it "Last Man Standing" in remembrance of those lost.

But Jack was not down here to relive his training years. _Well, _he thought, _maybe I am. But only the part where I slay skeletons. _The cavern was better lit right now as there was no Trial taking place for a couple months when the oldest trainees were ready. But, as this was one of the darkest and deepest places in Achievement City, most monsters would find this cavern a haven. Jack drew his sword and strode into the darkness.


End file.
